diff --git a/src/AcDream.App/UI/UiScrollbar.cs b/src/AcDream.App/UI/UiScrollbar.cs
index 3ecef835..d6569b3c 100644
--- a/src/AcDream.App/UI/UiScrollbar.cs
+++ b/src/AcDream.App/UI/UiScrollbar.cs
@@ -208,8 +208,21 @@ public sealed class UiScrollbar : UiElement
 
     internal bool IsPresentationVisible => !HideWhenDisabled || !IsModelDisabled;
 
+    /// <summary>
+    /// A content-fits (disabled) bar is still hit-testable and still
+    /// hover-highlights — retail's arrows and thumb are real child elements
+    /// whose Normal_rollover hot-tracking keeps running when the scrollbar
+    /// disables; the disabled state only hides the page-click regions
+    /// (UpdateLayout @0x004710d0's children 4-7) and, with attribute 0x79,
+    /// the whole bar. Scrolling input stays inert through geometry: with a
+    /// full-track thumb there is no travel and the line/page steps clamp to
+    /// nothing. The previous IsModelDisabled hit gate made the bar
+    /// hit-TRANSPARENT, which is why hovering it "did nothing" (2026-08-24
+    /// live probe: hovers over the bar reported widget=&lt;none&gt;).
+    /// Only a presentation-hidden bar (0x79 + disabled) ignores the pointer.
+    /// </summary>
     protected override bool OnHitTest(float localX, float localY)
-        => !IsModelDisabled && base.OnHitTest(localX, localY);
+        => IsPresentationVisible && base.OnHitTest(localX, localY);
 
     /// <summary>
     /// Computes the thumb rectangle (local y origin and height) within the track area
@@ -520,7 +533,11 @@ public sealed class UiScrollbar : UiElement
             return false; // informational — never consumes
         }
 
-        if (IsModelDisabled)
+        // Only a presentation-HIDDEN bar ignores input (see OnHitTest's own
+        // doc): a visible disabled bar keeps hover/pressed visuals exactly
+        // like retail's still-hot-tracking button/thumb children, while its
+        // scroll operations no-op through zero travel.
+        if (!IsPresentationVisible)
         {
             _draggingThumb = false;
             _hoveredThumb = false;
diff --git a/tests/AcDream.App.Tests/UI/Layout/CharacterStatControllerTests.cs b/tests/AcDream.App.Tests/UI/Layout/CharacterStatControllerTests.cs
index 96e142b2..19ba6170 100644
--- a/tests/AcDream.App.Tests/UI/Layout/CharacterStatControllerTests.cs
+++ b/tests/AcDream.App.Tests/UI/Layout/CharacterStatControllerTests.cs
@@ -1953,6 +1953,51 @@ public class CharacterStatControllerTests
         Assert.Equal(RetailScrollbarChrome.ThumbMidRollover, scrollbar.ThumbRolloverSprite);
     }
 
+    /// <summary>
+    /// 2026-08-24 owner report: "hovering the scrollbar and arrows does
+    /// nothing" — root-level hover through the REAL mounted character
+    /// fixture (production element tree, overlays and z-order included).
+    /// </summary>
+    [Fact]
+    public void ProductionFixture_HoveringTheSkillScrollbar_SelectsRolloverMedia()
+    {
+        var layout = FixtureLoader.LoadCharacter();
+        CharacterStatController.Bind(
+            layout,
+            SampleData.SampleCharacter,
+            spriteResolve: id => (id, 16, 16));
+        var root = new UiRoot { Width = 800f, Height = 600f };
+        root.AddChild(layout.Root);
+        ApplyLayoutPass(layout.Root);
+
+        ClickTab(layout, left: 92f);
+        var page = layout.Root.Children.Single(
+            e => e.DatElementId == CharacterStatController.AttributesPageId);
+        var list = Descendants(page).Single(
+            e => e.DatElementId == CharacterStatController.ListBoxId);
+        var scrollbar = list.Parent!.Children.OfType<UiScrollbar>().Single(
+            e => e.DatElementId == CharacterStatController.ListScrollbarId);
+        Assert.True(scrollbar.Visible);
+        // The headless harness never measures row content; give the REAL
+        // bound model an overflowing extent so the bar is enabled the way
+        // a populated skills list is in production.
+        Assert.NotNull(scrollbar.Model);
+        scrollbar.Model!.ContentHeight = 800;
+        scrollbar.Model.ViewHeight = 398;
+        Assert.False(scrollbar.IsModelDisabled);
+
+        var screen = scrollbar.ScreenPosition;
+        // Over the up arrow (5px into the 16px top button).
+        root.OnMouseMove((int)(screen.X + 8f), (int)(screen.Y + 5f));
+        Assert.Equal(
+            RetailScrollbarChrome.UpRollover, scrollbar.ActiveStartSpriteForTest);
+
+        // Over the thumb (just below the up button; thumb starts at track top).
+        root.OnMouseMove((int)(screen.X + 8f), (int)(screen.Y + 24f));
+        Assert.Equal(
+            RetailScrollbarChrome.ThumbMidRollover, scrollbar.ActiveThumbSpriteForTest);
+    }
+
     // ── Helpers ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
     private static void ClickTab(ImportedLayout layout, float left)
diff --git a/tests/AcDream.App.Tests/UI/UiScrollbarTests.cs b/tests/AcDream.App.Tests/UI/UiScrollbarTests.cs
index daa501a3..f9e51e3f 100644
--- a/tests/AcDream.App.Tests/UI/UiScrollbarTests.cs
+++ b/tests/AcDream.App.Tests/UI/UiScrollbarTests.cs
@@ -573,6 +573,83 @@ public class UiScrollbarTests
         Assert.Equal(1u, bar.ActiveThumbSpriteForTest);
     }
 
+    /// <summary>
+    /// 2026-08-24 live-probe root cause: a content-fits (disabled) bar was
+    /// hit-TRANSPARENT, so hovering it reported widget=&lt;none&gt; and no
+    /// state ever highlighted. Retail's arrows/thumb are real child
+    /// elements that keep hot-tracking while the scrollbar is disabled —
+    /// only the page regions (and, with 0x79, the whole bar) go away.
+    /// </summary>
+    [Fact]
+    public void DisabledVisibleBar_StillHoverHighlights_ButNeverScrolls()
+    {
+        var root = new UiRoot { Width = 800f, Height = 600f };
+        var model = new UiScrollable { ContentHeight = 100, ViewHeight = 150, LineHeight = 10 };
+        var bar = new UiScrollbar
+        {
+            Left = 100, Top = 100, Width = 16f, Height = 200f,
+            Model = model,
+            UpSprite = 1u, UpRolloverSprite = 2u,
+            ThumbSprite = 4u, ThumbRolloverSprite = 5u,
+        };
+        root.AddChild(bar);
+        Assert.True(bar.IsModelDisabled);
+        Assert.True(bar.IsPresentationVisible);
+
+        // Hover the up arrow: highlight, exactly like retail's full-bar state.
+        root.OnMouseMove(108, 105);
+        Assert.Equal(2u, bar.ActiveStartSpriteForTest);
+
+        // Hover the (full-track) thumb: highlight.
+        root.OnMouseMove(108, 130);
+        Assert.Equal(5u, bar.ActiveThumbSpriteForTest);
+
+        // Clicking consumes (the bar is opaque UI) but cannot scroll.
+        Assert.True(bar.OnEvent(new UiEvent(0u, bar, UiEventType.MouseDown, Data1: 8, Data2: 5)));
+        Assert.Equal(0, model.ScrollY);
+
+        // A presentation-HIDDEN bar (0x79 + disabled) stays inert.
+        bar.HideWhenDisabled = true;
+        Assert.False(bar.OnEvent(new UiEvent(0u, bar, UiEventType.MouseDown, Data1: 8, Data2: 5)));
+    }
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Root-level repro for the 2026-08-24 owner report "hovering the
+    /// scrollbar and arrows does nothing": drives real
+    /// <see cref="UiRoot.OnMouseMove"/> hit-test/hover dispatch instead of
+    /// synthetic direct OnEvent calls.
+    /// </summary>
+    [Fact]
+    public void RootMouseMove_OverArrowAndThumb_SelectsRolloverMedia()
+    {
+        var root = new UiRoot { Width = 800f, Height = 600f };
+        var model = new UiScrollable { ContentHeight = 400, ViewHeight = 150, LineHeight = 10 };
+        var bar = new UiScrollbar
+        {
+            Left = 100, Top = 100, Width = 16f, Height = 200f,
+            Model = model,
+            UpSprite = 1u, UpRolloverSprite = 2u, UpPressedSprite = 3u,
+            DownSprite = 7u, DownRolloverSprite = 8u,
+            ThumbSprite = 4u, ThumbRolloverSprite = 5u,
+        };
+        root.AddChild(bar);
+
+        // Over the up arrow (local y = 5, inside the 16px button).
+        root.OnMouseMove(108, 105);
+        Assert.Equal(2u, bar.ActiveStartSpriteForTest);
+
+        // Over the thumb (track 16..184, ratio 150/400=0.375 → thumb 16..79
+        // local, 116..179 screen).
+        root.OnMouseMove(108, 130);
+        Assert.Equal(1u, bar.ActiveStartSpriteForTest);
+        Assert.Equal(5u, bar.ActiveThumbSpriteForTest);
+
+        // Over the down arrow (local y >= 184).
+        root.OnMouseMove(108, 290);
+        Assert.Equal(4u, bar.ActiveThumbSpriteForTest);
+        Assert.Equal(8u, bar.ActiveEndSpriteForTest);
+    }
+
     private sealed class NullGpuFrameSource : ICurrentGpuFrameSource
     {
         public IGpuFrame? CurrentFrame => null;